


Market Place

by MontyPink



Category: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MontyPink/pseuds/MontyPink
Summary: You never forget the first time you fell in love.
Relationships: Wheezy x Smarty
Kudos: 3





	Market Place

He hadn’t been in this country for long.. in fact, it was only 2 weeks. 

Honestly he thought he would feel liberated. That he finally could spread his wings, away from it all. But instead he felt more grounded than ever. Turns out this wasn’t the land of opportunity after all. Maybe if you were a funny one.. or a cute one. But for people like him? No dice.

It didn’t take long for him to end up downtown. Never much of a drinker but he good appreciate the bar crowd. Drunk people were something.. but at least they were honest. Plus they didn’t mind him smoking. 

Most people smoked more than one cigarette at the time, so to blend in with the locals he did the same. He noticed that he looked different though. Not only was his fur a far different color, he was also taller than most. 

Which eventually pissed someone off. He wasn’t trying to pick a fight, hell he was trying to avoid it.. but when the other took a swing at him, he hit him right in the jaw and broke it. 

People saw.. and people talk. He feared for his life. While he didn’t know the details he knew that most weasels belonged to the Monroe family. And what a happy family it was from the stories. If you lay your hands on one of them, you could expect to be down in the dirty not long later.

The first thing he did was find some paper, he needed to write a letter to his family back home. “Didn’t make it. Don’t mourn me.” Swift, short, easy. He didn’t sleep, his eyes were already bloodshot from the new extreme smoking habit but there were even more red now. He was panicking but tried to not let it show. 

Finding a post office was next. Which proved almost impossible. Before he could find one he was grabbed by two others. They were shorter and if he fought he could probably get free but it would only delay his death. Instead he went limp and let them drag him away. 

He got two surprises that day;

One; Downtown had some nice places after all. The place he was brought too was a nice mansion type with a well kept garden and various rooms.

Two; He was still alive.

There were a few others in the room, but his eyes were mostly focussed on the one in front of him. 

An older weasel, maybe his own dad’s age. It was hard to tell. While his fur was kept it was a little wilder than the other’s. He also seemed to have various scars all over his body which he tried to hide by combing his fur over it. It seems he was missing a tooth and didn’t bother to get a fake one. The outfit he was wearing made him look even more intimidating. While most others wore some splash of color he wore black from head to toe. Except from a golden wedding band on one of his fingers.

“I heard you beat up one of my men?” The voice was more pleasant than he expected, almost fatherly. 

“I didn’t mean too..” Why did his voice sound so wheezy? It suddenly occurred that he hasn’t been speaking much since he arrived. “He tried to attack me and I got lucky and got a punch in.”

The other raised an eyebrow. “No.” He simply said. “You didn’t get lucky. You got skill.”

Somehow this filled him with pride. Back home he was taught to solve all conflict with words. Side effect of being a preacher’s son. He was scolded whenever he fought and yelled at whenever he offered solving something with violence. 

“T.. thank you.” 

“I’m Mateo. Current leader of the Monroe family. We mostly run this place. And by we, I mean I do. As long as I want you to be safe, you’re safe.” 

Why was he telling him all this? Some build up to torture? 

“I have children. The oldest will hopefully take my place when I have outlived my usefulness. But I fear he’s not ready yet. Too hot headed.. to smart ass-y..” 

Oh god was he going to ask him to beat up his son!? He felt a bead of sweat rolling down his neck and into his shirt, which he also only now realised he hasn’t washed in a 2 weeks. He showered, sure but he hadn’t found a place to do laundry yet.

“But- where are my manners? What is your name?”

“Luka..” 

“You’re not from here, are you?”

“No sir.” 

“And that’s why you’re perfect..” Mateo smiled, now it was even more obvious he was missing a tooth. “No one here will truly stand up to my kid. They’re all afraid I’m going to hurt them. Which to their credit, I might.” He explained. “He knows this and abuses this power by being as annoying as possible. Which leads to me ‘firing’ them.” Luka didn’t really like the air quotes on that. “Which leads to him being himself, ruthless.. but entitled. I know i am to blame for this.. But I need this place to be in capable hands. Do you see where I am going with this?” 

Luka shook no, better to be honest than to get in over your head.

“He needs a bodyguard. One that can teach him a thing or two about life. I want you to do that.” 

He didn’t even give him the option to say no.

__

Mateo proved to be a man of his word. The next day he was introduced to the heir of the family and what a brat it was. He wore a pink suit with an obnoxious diamond on it. His fur was neatly kept and his nails clipped. His teeth were shiny and clean and he smelled like soap. Luka wondered if the kid has ever been outside. He looked to be in mint condition. 

That alone didn’t make him a brat. No it was the temper tantrum he threw. He had seen one once before. Years ago when his brother was little.. Pretty sure his brother was 3 then. 

After he stormed off, Mateo ordered him to follow him and not leave his side. 

He didn’t want to open the door. Of course.

Now the door wasn’t locked. But he respected the other’s privacy after being denied entrance. 

Luka sighed. Somehow being dead seemed like the better option. He eyed a vase in the hallway, maybe if he knocked it over he would still meet his end. He threw his head back and let himself slide to the floor. Maybe he would fall asleep like this. Even if he did the door opening behind him would wake him up. 

After a few hours the door did indeed open and he fell backwards, he indeed had fallen asleep but like he hoped, the door shook him awake. 

“Hòigh..” Luka said after fully recovering from his nap. 

“Why are you still here.”

God even his voice sounded bratty. Though it wasn’t without it’s charm..

“Contract says I have to..”

“You could quit.” He couldn’t. He knew quitting would mean death. Maybe the other was playing with him. So he played back. “Can’t.. stand out too much.” He gestured towards is own body. 

“Yeah that’s your personal problem.” The smaller one tried to move past him and Luka felt his blood boil. Was this kid always this annoying? He reacted by putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him against the wall. He was pretty sure he caught the other blushing. 

“Don’t make this hard.”

“Don’t treat me like a child.”

“Don’t act like one.”

That struck a nerve. Luka was fighting a smile. He couldn’t help but find the other adorable. This was probably one of the first time someone said no to him and he didn’t know how to cope. 

“Come again?”

“I said.. don’t act like a child.”

“I just want to do my job. I need to be around you. That’s it.” Though that was turning into something of a lie. This little one before him was quite the entertaining one. He wouldn’t object to being around him. Especially if he could put him in his place.

“I.. I’m not acting like a child.” A pouting face looked good on him. 

“You are.” 

“Explain.” He was pretty sure the other was trying to channel is father. Like a toddler wanting to help around the house and pretending to vacuum. 

“You are a spoiled child who knows nothing of the world. You think you’re the absolute best at anything and everything but deep down you’re insecure. You barely have any real friends as most of them are afraid of your daddy and you know it but you deny it. You think you can handle big boy stuff but you go a tantrum when things don’t go your way. You’re not ready for anything yet.”

Oh.. that was way too far.. A wave of pity fell over him as he looked into the other’s eyes. “That was.. too far. I’m sorry.” 

“No. You’re right.”

There was hope for the spoiled one after all.

After he got the drink he wanted, they returned to the room. It was a nice room. Bigger than his house back home. He walked around and pretended to look outside. But inside he thought about the other on the bed. Sure he was a brat but he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. While he was raised by strict parents.. he never had the pressure of having to be the heir to the family empire. 

And disappointment.. he knew what that was. Neither his mom or dad was found of the decisions he made. And then there was the one on the bed. The pink one.. Pinky.. He wanted to impress his father so much but his father won’t give him a smidge of a chance. 

Sure, his job title was bodyguard, but Luka felt it was more of a baby sitter’s job. 

Luka noticed the other shift his weight around and realised he had been quiet for a while. 

“Where i am from.. we got an even prettier sky. I guess that’s a thing i miss.” 

“You aren’t homesick..?”

“Not really. I mean sure. I miss them a little. But they were okay with life. I wasn’t. Being discriminated against all day every day gets tired fast, ya know?”

“And now you’re here..” 

“Gotta be somewhere.”

“Yeah but a being a body guard..?”

“I was told it was a babysitting job. So imagine my surprise when I found out the baby’s age.”

He watched the other puff up and get all red from blushing. He couldn’t help it. He had fought it for so long, he had to let it out; a hearty laugh. 

“Easy, wee one.. I’m joking.” He said with a wink. 

“Gonna be a boring job though. Not much happens..” 

“I disagree. I find you.. wildly interesting.” Not a lie. Not even a little. There was something about the other that drew Luka to him. Though he couldn’t quite place it. 

The realisation came a few days later. With Mateo’s permission Luka took the Pink one out to the market. Nothing too big, just a fun outing. Luka figured if he was going to learn about this world, he should experience it. 

He had looked scared and even shook a little when they went to the market at the other side of town. Weasels weren’t shunned there but the family had less power in these parts. Meaning that no one would treat his boss differently. Which is precisely what Luka wanted.

He watched him dart around the place like a child on a sugar high. As he paid for the fruit they were out to get he knew what he was feeling. The strong desire to protect him. To care for him. To love him.


End file.
